Coaching Youth Football

Snack Schedule for your Youth Football Team

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:29:40 GMT

This is a tough one especially if you are coaching a younger youth football team. My personal opinion is there is no need for a snack before the game or at half time. I am not even a fan of it after the game since the kids are more concerned about getting their food and not listening to the coaches.

We live in a democracy so plan on the kids getting something. The younger the team is the more likely there will snacks. This is where the Team Mom needs to assign a schedule for the families. I try to keep it to just a beverage, like Gatorade and only for AFTER the game. One year I allowed for oranges at half time since the parents thought it would energize the kids. What a nightmare! The kids used more energy pushing each other over to get to the bag of orange slice. No one listened and the player left orange peels all over the place. Half time was spent cleaning the mess made on the field. I have seen some teams have a “party” at half time with all kinds of cookies and other stuff. No way will I allow snacks at half time. If the individual parent gives you a hard time tell them to bring something for their kid and the parent can feed it to them while you speak to the team at half time.

Teaching proper tackling form on the pads

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:53:13 GMT

I am a big believer in using the hand held pads throughout the entire youth football practice.

The pads are especially effective early in the season to make sure the kids are learning the proper techniques.

Football is a game that is still all about blocking and tackling. The team the blocks and tackles better than the other team will have a clear advantage.

I believe that all kids can be taught to block and tackle with the proper techniques. These are youth football players and it doesn’t matter if they are your studs or a weaker player they all should be taught the proper way of doing things.

I have always used the line that Basketball is a contact sport but Football at all levels is a collision sport.

You need to make sure that all the players know the proper way of blocking and tackling to help avoid any potential unnecessary injuries.

I feel the best way to teach the proper technique is by using the pads. It also gives the kids a chance to be involved in both the drill and holding the pads to help their teammate.

What I like to do is split the squad in half and have them face each other. One side will be holding the pads while the other side will perform the drill.

We are talking about tackling so the tackling line of players will come out of a “ready tackle or breakdown position” or a three point stance an on the coaches whistle drive into the player holding the pad across from him.

The tacklers are supposed to make contact and wrap up the pad. By wrapping up we mean hug. That is right, try to teach the kids to get as big a hug as possible and try to clasp their hands together around the player and the pad. In reality you want them to wrap their arms around the opponent and grab onto any part of them whether it is a jersey or their legs. They are only supposed to make contact and wrap, not tackle the player holding the pad. Make it clear that you are looking for proper tackling form, not an actual tackle.

What you need to look for is a straight back, head up and arms wrapping around the pads/player.

You must make sure that they do not arch their backs or lower their helmets. This is a sure way to get hurt. I use a little saying “See what you hit”. This is where the NFL does us absolutely no good. You will see time and time again players tackling leading with their helmet down. Please make sure to advise the players how dangerous this is and when you see a player doing this blow the whistle immediately. Make sure a coach goes over and completely explains to the player and all players what was done wrong. The youth football coach then needs to show the proper technique.

There needs to be zero tolerance for lowering your helmet while tackling.

On a much lesser level, we have not wrapping up when you tackle. The NFL once again does not do us ant favors. The NFL loves to show big collisions. If I see a player try this stuff the whistle goes off and a very stern voice expresses my disapproval. It is hard enough coaching youth football players, but the NFL does us no favors.

Not wrapping up is not a safety issue but a team issue. If you do not wrap up I guarantee you will miss the majority of tackles.

A little reminder I have seen a previous coach use was to have a player who missed a tackle in practice during a drill goes and hug a tree. It was not uncommon to see the park full of youth football players hugging all the trees in the park.

While this is an extreme example it seemed to work because only a few weeks later and no body were hugging any trees. The kids got the message.

It amazes us how many youth football coaches ignore working on form and refuse to use pads. I have had many years of success with weaker players with better form outperforming more talented kids with bad form.

Kick-Off Youth Football Special Teams

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:05:30 GMT

The kick-off in youth football can be a make it or break it special team. If you are not prepared for kick-off coverage, or receiving you can be in big trouble. Once again, the younger the players are the more simple you need to keep special teams.

Scouting becomes especially important, as you will want to see alignments and tendencies of your opponents. Many teams will only kick-off to a certain area or onside kick after a score, and by scouting the opponent, you will have an advantage.

The kick-off in youth football should be as boring an uneventful as possible. I truly live by making this special team as un-special as possible. You need to make sure not to kick the ball out of bounds (penalty), but also not to kick it to any dangerous return man. To solve this issue, I use a squib kick. I will turn the tee upside down, or not even use a tee, and teach the kick to boot the ball right in the middle. We try to get a good rotation, and aim for the second row of players. I do everything in my power to avoid a return, and many times this method gives the ball a strange bounce giving us an opportunity for the recovery.

The kick-off receiving team must be good at falling on the ball. We will review the scouting report for any trends, which include

Who the kicker is
Is the kick long or short
Is the kick left or right
Onside kick frequency

The main objective is to not turn the ball over. I gave up the dream of kick-off returns for touchdowns many years ago.

When coaching youth football special teams, make sure that the team understands the importance of not being a hero, and the goal is to not turn the ball over.

Double Team Blocking

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:42:15 GMT

One of the main blocks I have used over my 20+ years of coaching youth football has been the Double Team block. It is a very effective block to use at all age levels. It is also a very easy block to teach the players. There are many different times to use a double team which include

Bringing extra “power” to the area you are running
Helping out against a dominant defender
Exposing a weaker defender
Helping a hurting teammate

Let me go over each of these in a little more detail. There will be times during a game where you really want to open the hole. The best way to accomplish this is to send more blockers than defenders to that area. The double team may come from two linemen, a lineman and a running back or possibly a slot and a lineman. A properly designed play bringing extra blockers can almost assure a few extra yards on that play.

The second situation for a double team is when your opponent has a dominant defender that one blocker cannot handle. I will send a double or even a triple team if I need to control a dominant defender. I always have a scouting report so we have a heads up on this situation and we prepare accordingly.

The third area of double team is when I notice an extremely weak defender of our opponent. If you attack a major weakness, early in the game, with extreme power you should be able to dominate that area with one defender throughout the rest of the day. The theory here is to set the tone early and scare the opponent keeping them off balance on what we are going to do to them next.

The fourth reason for using a double team block is to help an ailing teammate. If we have a lineman who is sick or hurt, we can use double team blocking to help him out. We want to make sure he does not feel abandoned during his time of need so we adjust to help him out.

These are just a few of the areas we will use the double team block when coaching youth football.

Gap On Man Blocking Scheme – Coaching Youth Football

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:41:25 GMT

I will start by explaining one of the more popular blocking schemes used in youth football. Every play you decide to run will only be as successful as the blocking assignments. You need to make sure players know whom they need to block. This will change based on many different factors including

Offensive formation
Offense scheme running
Running or passing play
Defensive alignment
Scouting report
Your talent
Opponents talent

These are a few of the major considerations when developing the proper blocking schemes to use. You will also need a simple way of teaching the blocking assignments, especially if you are coaching a very young team.

The Gap On Man blocking assignment attempts to be a set of rules a lineman can follow for all plays. This is not possible, but it can be used for a general run-blocking scheme.

The rule states that every lineman will base his decision of the rules on where the center is. The rules tell the lineman to block the first opponent that fulfills a rule. Below is the more specific description if you are a guard:

GAP – if there is a defender lined up in the GAP (area between the center and the guard), that is who you block
ON - if there is no defender in the GAP, but a defender is lined up right on you, that is who you block.
MAN – If there is no defender in the GAP or lined up ON you then you block the 1st MAN (defender) in front of you. This is usually a linebacker.

It is a simple scheme and teaches the players responsibility as well as trust. They need to work as a team and trust their teammates will be blocking the right defenders.

Picking the Youth Football Team Mom

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:17:08 GMT

When coaching youth football, an important early decision is picking your Team Mom. Many years you will get lucky and get the mom that volunteer every year. Sometimes you will get no one to step forward. Occasionally you get a few moms that want the job and you have to choose one. Make sure you are compatible with the mom you select. You need a take-charge mom who will keep you informed but not be a pain in the butt.

The many duties of the youth football Team Mom include

Typing and Passing out a roster list with all the players names, numbers, parents names and contact info
Emergency phone numbers lists
Organizing the homecoming of Rally night, which may include assigning things for people to bring.
Help passing out uniforms
Collection of money and delivery of uniforms to local shirt shops to get the names printed on the back
Email updates to the parents
Make and distribute an assignment list for game day duties
Make and distribute a snack list. I am funny about this and have pretty much gotten away from it. A lot of teams do a halftime and end of the game snack. I have eliminated both since I believe they are a distraction. An after game beverage like Gatorade is fine.
Plan and book the year-end banquet. This will include collecting the money from each parent.

Your youth football year will go a lot easier with a good Team Mom. Please make sure to take care of her at the end of the year as well. A nice gift certificate will show your appreciation.

Zero Tolerance Policy

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:12:04 GMT

I believe in adopting a zero tolerance policy for bad behavior for the youth football team you are coaching. I am writing in the parent section of the book so let me explain what I mean be zero tolerance. If you have done what has been suggested, and set the ground rules up front early in the year at the parent meeting, then I do not believe in second chances. There are not a lot of rules and most of them are just common courtesy.

There is no tolerance for any parent to question or complain to you in public. Coaching youth football is a voluntary position and everyone including the parents should respect you.

If a parent has a question make sure, you have a way and a time for them to approach you. In a private manner, it is fine to ask any questions they may have, but not in front of an audience.

Please check with your youth football administration regarding your zero tolerance policy and have their approval before the season starts. Most youth football programs will applaud your efforts to keep things under control.

The penalties I have used for noncompliant parents has ranged from suspending them from games, suspending them from our youth football practices and kicking them out of the league.

Pad Blocking to test Drive Blocking Ability

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:43:15 GMT

When I try to figure out who my blockers are I run this youth football drill. Actually I have the Line Coaches run this drill. It is a simple drill where you have each player block against the coach was holding a dummy. The players start in a three point stance right in front of the pad. On the whistle, or snap the player hit the pad as hard as he can and drive blocks the coach. The coach should give resistance but let the player move him. The coach gives out a number giving that player a rating. We use a scale of 1 (weak) to 10 (strong). The players then go to the end of the line and wait their turn to try it again.

You will notice very fast that a competition will start among the players and they start asking each other “What was your score?” They all start trying to out do each other.

Similar to the Iron man drill, you will click quickly realize which players constantly tried to improve on their grade in which players shy away the competition.

You read time and time again that you are a coach of youth football, not High School or the Pros. You need to make sure that the weaker players do not get lost in the shuffle. You will have to keep great records and make sure you do not put these kids in bad situations for themselves or the team.

You will want to make sure the kids are always in the proper three point stance when they start this drill.

If you are not sure what a proper three point stance is please see The Proper Three Point Stance.

The other question that is always asked is should the youth football players be taught to block with their hands or their shoulder pads.
I believe the answer lies in which type of block your play needs at that time. The kids should be taught both techniques since certain situations will require different ways to block it.

Different kids may also feel more comfortable with one method over another so it is good ideas to have all kids try both ways.

If you need more details on these different youth football blocking techniques please go to that chapter in the book or check the website.

You will notice that the same kids seem to be your best runners, throwers and blockers. That is great since they will all have to block at some point on certain plays. Also depending on the offense you run many of the backs and ends have to make the key blocks and need to be your best blockers.

Single Wing Youth Football Plays and Playbooks

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:09:33 GMT

Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced playbooks all come together in this Complete Single Wing Playbook by Jim Oddo.

It's a complete system for teaching the 130+ plays in the powerful Single Wing Offense

If you a newor veteran youth football coach, it can be difficult to choose an offense to run for your youth football team. Maybe you are looking for a supplement to your cuurent system. It is even harder to find a youth specific football playbook that is age appropriate.

My Complete Single Wing Playbook is just what you are looking for since it is applicable for many age groups. This book will last your entire youth football caoching career. This playbook has plays for ages 5-14 that are both new and experienced tackle players. This complete playbook gives you 130+ plays you need to run a successful youth football offense for years to come.

I believe every coach can gain a unique advantage over his opposition using the powerful single wing offense. This is the perfect offense for young players who are experienced in tackle football as well as players new to the sport.

Why would I choose a complete level playbook?

Complete playbooks are designed for players 5-14 years old
Complete playbooks are designed for newbies as well as three year plus tackle players
All plays are explained in detail
All plays are simple to teach and can be implemented quickly
Each play has a large diagram
Every position assignment is explained in detail for every position on every play
I have used every play in this playbook and have made all adjustments to improve their effectiveness.
There are 130 total plays

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Punt Rules

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:23:13 GMT

The punt team on your youth football special teams can be very important if used in the correct manner. Youth football punt team is very similar to the upper levels. The primary objective when punting is to gain an advantage from your current field position.

If you are deep in your end of the field, your goal is to get your youth football defense some breathing room. You want to make sure the kick gets as far as possible, but not returnable. You do not want to risk a punt return for a score.

If you are around mid-field, your goal is to get the kick as close to the end zone as possible. You need to make sure the kick does not go into the end zone for a touch back. I work on having the punter kicking the ball out of bounds.

Make sure you know the rules for your league. The younger ages in our league get a free snap, followed by a free punt, but as soon as the ball is kicked, the play becomes live. There is no rush or live line play until the ball is kicked. This does present a challenge, as you need to teach the players to move as soon as the ball is kicked. All players must stay in there lanes and tackle the return man. This is much easier said than done, especially at the younger levels.

Youth football punting has its rewards as long as you understand the rules, and make sure not to give up the big play.